One of the highlights this September, which is cancer awareness month, is the world's biggest motorcycling charity event aiming to raise fund for prostate cancer research.
Days ago, motorbike enthusiasts raised more than $10,000 for research on prostate cancer. This program is part of the international campaign The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (DGR). There were more than 56,000 people in over 500 cities across around the world who joined the event.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer in men. The diagnosis and treatment for this type of cancer often come late because there may be no signs that one has it for years. A patient may only feel the symptoms when the enlargement of the prostate already affects the urethra.
Studies reveal that African-American men, especially those with a family history of this disease, are more prone to prostate cancer.
"They do have 1.5 times greater risk of having prostate cancer and twice the mortality of they get it," according to Dr. Ash Tewari, chair of the urology department at Mount Sinai. He stresses the importance of exercise, before and after any treatment.
One of the latest technology in prostate cancer treatment is Neurovascular Structure-adjacent Frozen-section Examination or NeuroSAFE. This analysis, which only takes a minute, ensures that all cancer has been removed by examining the healthy tissue around the tumor.
Another milestone in prostate cancer treatment is the robotic surgery, this one has been around for about 15 years, though. The advantages of robotic surgery over the other treatments is that it minimizes bleeding. It allows a better visual magnification of the cancer and it is also less invasive.
There is also the active surveillance, which is a viable option over immediate surgery. This involves carefully monitoring for signs of progression through PSA blood test, biopsy, and digital rectal exam (though some urologists recommend abandoning the use of the latter).
